Something old is new again

Okay, so maybe this is stretching the terms "vintage" and "retro" but these windows are definitely OLD. I got them off Craig's List in winter 2008. A woman who lived just 5 miles from me gave them to me for FREE (my favorite word!) and she even drove them to my house and helped me unload them into my back yard.

So what does one want with a pile of old windows? Well, for me- it's another way to satisfy justify my sea glass obsession collection.

And just what does sea glass have to do with old windows? Upcycling. Wikipedia defines upcycling as the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. For my purposes, I take windows people are getting rid of and turn them into colorful pieces of art.

Here are some examples of pieces I have made in the past











My windows are all wood frame windows destined for the dump. I use paint that I find in the "oops" section at the hardware store and the glass is either sea glass gathered off local beaches or repurposed bottles, jars and glasses rescued from my own recycling bin and put into a tumbler to smooth the rough edges. The epoxy I use to set the glass is a styrene free product with no dangerous peroxides and no VOC's which means a safer environment!

I mentioned yesterday that I was working on a project for my sister. She commissioned me to make her an upcycled glass window to be given as a gift later this month. She's coming to pick it up this weekend. Here are some work-in-progress photos



The glue is still drying in these photos, so please ignore all the white showing through, it will dry clear!

So while I don't know that this is technically Retro or Vintage, I am linking up to Tracy over at Crazy Suburban Mom for Retro Tuesday and Coloradolady for Vintage Thingies Thursday!


ps- this is not intended to be an advertising blog post but if anyone is interested, the koi fish window is for sale and I do take on commission work! :)